Backfire
by VRTrinity
Summary: Beast Boy dares Robin to ask Starfire out to some random apartment and in the next chapter Red X is coming home, and a lot of things end up backfiring. Blackfire's in it too. R&R plz, and yes I'm crazy.
1. A Simple Mistake

Robin gave the newspaper a sharp rustle. He crossed his legs and lay back on the sofa. Less than a foot away, Cyborg and Beast Boy were playing with the game-station. As usual. When did anyone ever win that game anyway? Robin bet he could've won easy, but decided that he had more important things to do. However, reading the newspaper proved to be as boring as it looked, if not more so. The tiny, tight strings of words had already begun to hurt Robin's eyes. He pulled the paper a little closer and tried to ignore the growing pain in his temples.

It was hard to concentrate with the cars roaring from the video game, which were only rivaled by the frequent shouts of BB and Cy. For what seemed like an hour, Robin stared at the newspaper, the gray of the pages finally beginning to nag him. But now there was a good part: it was over! Robin stood up and tossed the papers on the table. What a waste. If Robin remembered, the only difference between this and the last newspaper was that the reporter had changed her name from _Emily Smith _to _Emily Smithe_. Junk. Robin leaped back on the couch, agitated to see that Cyborg and Beast Boy still hadn't even finished one game.

"Why don't you play a different game?" he asked, not even trying to hide his annoyance.

"Dude!" Beast Boy whined. "I haven't won yet!"

"You mean lost yet," Cyborg spat back, but he was grinning.

Robin sighed. He noticed the only noise in the room was the tapping and clicking of the game-station controllers. "Anyone seen the girls?"

"They left while you were reading. Man, I thought you were going to pass out from that newspaper or something!" Cyborg gasped as Beast Boy's car slammed into his. He added after regaining his position in the lead, "I think Starfire meant the mall when she said _glorbnix of mensiltoes_."

Robin nodded. After the titans' encounter with the Puppet King, the two got along like sisters. That was a good way to put it, as the titans had developed into a big family. He stared the screen blankly for a minute. Why couldn't _somebody_ just win? He knew no one would, so he left the OPS room.

Robin decided to actually step in his room for a minute. He passed Raven's door in the hall, and thought about knocking. No answer. She _had_ gone out. No one was ever allowed in Raven's room, but only because she didn't want anyone in. He didn't know why. Now would be the perfect time to—**no**. Robin stopped himself and took his hand away from the door. It was disrespectful. Besides, if Robin wanted to snoop, he'd go to Starfire's room. Now was the time to go to his place. It really couldn't be called _his_ place.

Robin was bored after being in his room for a mere three seconds and headed for the crime lab.

He picked up a mask—shiny orange on one side and pitch black on the other—and stared hard and long at it. He didn't learn anything new. That's all Robin's obsession with Slade had done for him: wasted his time, and kept him away from his friends. Was that Slade's plan all along? Robin sighed, plopping down in his chair. His headache had increased incredibly, and it didn't help that more newspaper and magazine articles were posted all about the room.

He narrowed his eyes at the lock on a safe across from him. With the skull and x printed on it, no one needed to open it to know what was inside. Someone had stolen the Red X suit a while ago. It had once been Robin's, used as an alias to try and get to Slade. He had failed, and almost lost his friends. Robin was dying to know who this new Red X was, but he wasn't any closer to unveiling that mystery as he was to solving Slade's. He looked at the mask in his hand again defiantly.

"I will figure you out, Slade, and I will end this madness."

Robin let go of the mask with a start when he heard two solid knocks on the door. He opened it with a touch of the button. Cyborg and Beast Boy seemed to have finally pried themselves away from the game-station.

Robin smiled and cocked an eyebrow. "So, who won?"

They grinned back. "No one," Beast Boy admitted, "but the girls called. They asked if we could go out for pizza."

"At the usual? Right now?"

"That's what Star said." Cyborg scrunched his face in thought. "But she mentioned something about her hair, so it could be hours until they finish up."

"Sweet, then we're ordering vegetarian!" Beast Boy made a wild dash for the door.

"Oh no, you don't! We're getting double pepperoni!"

"Dude!"  
"What about black olives?"

"No way, man!"

Raven tucked her communicator away. Starfire had always wondered exactly where it was put (since her friend had no pockets) but never asked.

She clapped her hands together gleefully. "Come, Raven! Let us perform the _doing of our hair_ so we may join the boys at the shop of pizza! I do so favor the mint frosting."

Raven humored her with a small smile. "Whatever."

Star carried the loads of shopping bags through the mall effortlessly; happiness streaming off her face so vividly you could catch it with a bucket and bake a cake. Aliens. Raven pulled out one of her books from a bag. She had no idea of doing her hair, at all.

In the hair salon, Starfire stared in amazement at all the accessories, shampoos, and such. Raven could tell the workers were bored while Starfire flipped through a magazine for what could've been hours. She laughed at the simplest picture of a ponytail.

"The tail of a pony! The imitation in the hair is adorable, yes?"

Raven pretended not to hear.

Eventually, Starfire asked one of the stylists to put her hair in three braids with two ponytails in between and crimp anything else left over. She also wanted to freely adorn rollers of assorted colors like barrettes. Even later, the hairstylist convinced Starfire to keep it to just a ponytail with the loose ends in front curled. She giggled as the employee worked and insisted to put a green bow on at the end.

"My appearance is soothing to the eyes?" Starfire asked Raven, pleased with herself.

"You look good," she replied, devoid of emotion.

"But Raven, why do you not participate in the tails of animals and such doings with your hair?"

"I like the way my hair is. I leave it alone."

"You would not even permit me to brush it with the brush used for hair and not paint?" Starfire's green eyes sparkled pleadingly with a puppy-like look to them; she held up a cheap comb that came free with purchase.

Raven could say no to puppies, but not to Starfire, and she didn't mention that combs were different from brushes. Especially ones that break on the first try. She stuck her nose deeper in her book and muttered, "Knock yourself out."

Unlike Raven predicted, the comb did not break due to Starfire's gentle strokes.

"Glorious!" She picked up their bags earnestly. "We must show the boys our discoveries and partake in the gorging of bananas, pickles, and mint frosting!"

"Joy."

The boys had already ordered and finished two pizzas (mainly because Cyborg had devoured one and a half of them), but they didn't mind getting more. And they got a lot more. Starfire was the only one who ate the mustard and mint deluxe though. She slurped frosting off pizzas with almost as much relish as she sipped mustard right out of the bottle. Beast Boy and Robin took time to observe the girls' hair for a moment, however Cyborg was too busy ordering sevenths. BB nudged Robin's arm.

He whispered, "I dare you to ask Star out to a date and go to apartment number 177 on Todd Avenue."

"No!" Robin automatically responded, but everyone knew he didn't back off from dares. "Wait, did you make that up at the top of your head?"

"I saw the building on the way here. Anyway, should I change your badge letter to a C?"

"Why would you want to change _Robin_ to _Cyborg_?" Cyborg cut in rather loudly.

BB shushed him. "It's for _chicken_."

"Did I happen to overhear the word, _chicken_? As in the small, adorable birds with white feathers who take pleasure in fluttering, clucking, and producing eggs upon Raven's head?" Starfire asked hopefully.

Raven chose to ignore the whole conversation and flipped open her book from the mall.

"Something like that," Beast Boy muttered.

Starfire's face lit up and she pulled one of her bags from the mountainous pile and dug around in it before tossing it back and retrieving another. Soon, she found a plush chicken, snow white with piercing black beads for eyes that glittered in the sunlight. It had a cute look, which was obviously what had struck Starfire when she purchased it.

She giggled and squashed it in a hug so hard its little eyes might've popped out. "I thought Raven would enjoy the company of this tiny replica of the birds she and I so admire. I believe this is what you would call the inside of a joke."

Maybe it was, but the boys didn't need to know it to understand that Raven plus chickens equals a room full of feathers, and not from a pillow fight. Starfire tried offering the toy to Raven, but the girl did not move.

"I don't do stuffed animals," she replied flatly.

Starfire leaned back to the boys, looking slightly disappointed. "Due to her complications over animals being stuffed, I will have to find Raven a different object to express her love for the chickens." She held out the doll, smiling enthusiastically. "Would any of you be willing to accept this delightful memorial to the birds?"

Beast Boy and Cyborg casually pointed to Robin, and Starfire thrust it into his hands. She busied herself with handing out her other various items to the titans so Robin couldn't force the chicken back. He stared at the toy silently, solemnly brooding over everything wrong with his life. The little plush chicken made him think of everything good in his life. Sometimes it didn't seem like much. He knew his friends wouldn't last forever with Slade around. There had to be a way for Robin to prevent that, to preserve the precious times with his companions.

He glanced at Starfire, her joy so apparent it seemed to glow. Or maybe it was her beauty. She was a very pretty girl—were all Tamaraneans?—with long, bright auburn hair and emerald eyes. They were the same vibrant green as her star bolts. Robin had to admit to himself that he was rather fond of the alien, and it must've shown because even Beast Boy had managed to discover his crush. But more importantly, did Starfire know?

_I can't tell her_, he promised himself. _If she doesn't like me, she won't know how to say no._

Out of nowhere, an image of Slade flickered through Robin's head. Before he could stop it, memories of being forced to be Slade's apprentice took over. His friends, the trigger—how he hated that button—and worst of all, Slade himself. He shuddered at the reminiscence of thoughts and clenched his hands into fists. The chicken he was still holding let out a squeaky cluck, startling Robin back to the pizza shop. He looked at the doll once more, glaring intensely at the tiny black beads. Beast Boy perked up at the noise, green ears twitching.

"Well?"

The two boys tuned out Starfire's constant chatter, and Robin continued his observation in make-believe silence.

"I'll ask her. I'll ask her tonight."

Beast Boy rooted around his pocket frantically. He shifted to his other, then to the first, then back, pulling out junk here and there.

"Come on, come on, I know I have it somewhere…"

Cyborg yawned, eyeing the apartment door. "They're going to be here any minute, BB."

"I know, I know-Aha!" He pulled out a white card with **277** printed on it in bold. Dangling from it was a small, golden key.

Beast Boy jammed it into the lock and opened the door. "We've gotta set up the pranks before they get here!"

"Star's not gonna like that." The last time Beast Boy pulled a joke on Starfire, he had had quite a difficult time regaining her favor that day.

"Well, it's not like I'm going to throw motor oil balloons at them," Beast Boy muttered. "It'll be small things." He quickly tied a string across the doorway.

"Don't you think they'll suspect something if the door's wide open?" Cyborg opened up the Beast Boy's plan book.

"No, because we're going to make it look like I turned nice and set up a party." He took a bag of balloons into the bathroom, calling, "And these are only water balloons. We'll hang them from the ceiling, and maybe just one of them will _slip_."

Cyborg shook his head. "Glue on the couch?"

"Dude, it's special glue!" He snatched the bottle of glue from Cyborg and spread it on the seats. "They won't be stuck forever if they sit on it, just until they get splashed."

"BB, did you give them a key to this room?" Cyborg taped a piece of black paper to the TV screen.

"No, I told Robin he could get one if he asked at the front desk. I already informed the workers down there to expect it, so they shouldn't have to provide proof or anything. Oh god, it's five!" He exclaimed before winding the clock two hours back. "Find yourself a place to hide, Cy!"

"Say what-" Cyborg yelped as he slipped on some access shaving cream; then he dived for an empty closet.

"This is gonna be good." He morphed into a green fly and fluttered to the door for a front row seat.

Robin looked at the sign. Rooms 150-180 were on the right hallway. He and Starfire continued down the corridor. Starfire was very excited, anyone could tell. She had never been out of the tower with only Robin when they weren't crime-fighting. She wondered if it had anything to do with the _going out_. Some earthly customs were so strange.

"Robin, might I ask what we are planning to do in the room of 177?" she asked, smiling with energy.

"Sounds like it'll be a surprise," Robin murmured. He was aware that Beast Boy had probably booby-trapped the whole date and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Robin stopped at a door, seeing yet not seeing the large numbers engraved in a musty gold. He had a lot on his mind, but no matter where he went, he always seemed to be seeing his Slade. Hearing his slow, smooth voice echoing in his ears. It infuriated him. He cautiously inserted the shiny, silver key into the hole and waited a few seconds before turning it with a click. It was sure to trigger, something so Robin pushed open the door without entering. There were only two words for what happened so quickly after he did this: **absolutely nothing**. Surprised, Robin stood idly a moment, still anticipating a bucket of mud, or an attack of spitballs. Just something.

Starfire peeked over his shoulder, trying to find what was so interesting. "Robin, is everything KO?" She gasped, blushing. "I mean, okay?"

Robin had to smile at her blunder. "I think so," he lied. He didn't know if Beast Boy was only smart when it came to pranks, but he was sure this _trap_ was only made to let his guard down. He wouldn't fall for it.

The couple proceeded into the room. Robin checked every nook and cranny for tripwires and such, but didn't find a thing. Not one speck of dust willing to reveal one of Beast Boy's practical jokes, and no green flies. No bugs of any sort as a matter of fact.

"Robin, is there nothing we are meant to do here?"

Starfire, in truth, was very dismayed. Robin's pacing, serious face, and signs of a hard mind at work were identical to the behavior he used in the crime lab. Starfire knew of Robin's reputation for working all the time and, more importantly, or Slade's impact on him. She hoped it wasn't selfish, but Starfire was certain that this night was not about Slade. It was about _them_, and she intended to make it so. She felt a hint of anger in her face.

"If you did not wish to spend your time practicing the _going out_ with me, you need not have asked."

Robin stiffened, stopping his step, and bit his lip. He had completely forgotten the actual **date**. Now that Beast Boy appeared to have not really planned anything, what did Robin have in mind? Nothing. "I'm sorry, Star-"

"Do not be. I shall journey back to the tower."

"No." Robin placed a hand on her shoulder. They both blushed at the contact. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I promise we'll have a good time tonight. Okay?"

A long pause passed by, and Robin started to worry. But Starfire turned, eyes sparkling, with a smile too large to be human (of course). She grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Glorious!"


	2. Through The Looking Glass

"Dude, I just don't get it!" Beast Boy darted around the room furiously. He looked out the window; then scanned the hallways. "I know Robin wouldn't wuss out. Where could they possibly be? It's probably been an hour!" He turned to look at the clock but remembered it was set back.

Cyborg clicked a few buttons on a screen built into his right arm. "BB, it's been _two_ hours."

Beast Boy yelped. "What!? _Two_ hours!? Oh no! I've got to get back to the tower!"

Cyborg stopped his wild dash for the door with a large, robotic hand and a firm grip. "What's up at the tower?"

Beast Boy squirmed, whining like a puppy: a green puppy. "C'mon, Cy, lay off. Robin and Starfire have things to do and so do I."

"I'm not staying with your stupid pranks."

"You don't have to! Forget the whole thing. Just please, _please_ let me go see Raven now." His hands flew to his mouth with a small squeak.

Cyborg grinned and released the now quivering boy. "Whatever you say."

Still covering his mouth, Beast Boy ran out the building (after falling over his tripwire) with Cyborg right behind him.

It had been a bad day for Red X. He reflected upon it as he walked to his apartment. First of all, his stupid alarm clock went off two hours late for the fifth time in less than three days, which caused him to miss the date with his girlfriend. She was so ticked off she had dumped him right on the spot. Red X hadn't liked her anyway and would've undoubtedly ditched her in the next week. The fact was that she had done the dumping, and Red X had an uncanny want, so strong it was almost a need, to be in control. It had become second nature since he was so good at it, and whenever it was otherwise, he couldn't stand it. Next, he had gone "criminal mode" to intercept a boat importing a shipment of xenothium, only to find that he had jumped the wrong boat. He missed the bus back to the apartment and had to walk two miles to get back home. Just when it seemed things couldn't possibly get any worse, guess what happened? It started raining.

Now he was drenched, exhausted and all in all feeling more than a little moody. Only five blocks more and he'd be back in his good old apartment. Home sweet home.

Some random girl with her long, black hair tied up in a ponytail walked up to Red X and shared her purple umbrella with him. She did it without a word, just this really dazzling smile. Normally, Red X would try flirting back with her, because she was unquestioningly hot, but his mood was probably as bad as it got.

He glared at her dancing, violet eyes, suddenly recognizing her. "I know you. You've been following me around all day, haven't you?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, but after regaining herself, she smiled again. "Quite the observant one, aren't you," she lowered her voice to barely above inaudible, "Red X?"

He froze in his steps and hissed, "When did you find out?"

She pulled him along to keep walking. "I'll explain everything once we're inside and safe from wandering ears."

Red X couldn't argue with her and let the girl latch onto his arm like a parasite. A cute one, but a parasite nonetheless. Who knew what she planned to do with her newfound information?

The one thing Red X did not expect to see when he opened his door was two Teen Titans making out. His first and dictated thought was, "What the heck!?" and he slammed the door.

Then he rounded on the black-haired girl. "You told them! You told them, didn't you? And now you're turning me in!"

"No, no, I swear! I have no idea how those two got into your house, and I haven't said a word to anyone at all."

Red X sighed and opened the door again. Robin and Starfire had stopped their kissing and looked up at Red X, their faces burning.

Robin held up his hands, as if here were the criminal and Red X the cop. "We were just-"

"I don't need to hear it. Just go."

They rushed out, straightening their clothes and smoothing their hair. The girl lowered her head and turned to the side as they passed. Starfire looked at her and the two caught her eye and the two locked an uncomfortable gaze for a moment.

"I knew Beast Boy would goof up," Robin muttered, and Starfire, still staring back at, glided after him as Red X closed the door.

His "friend" had made herself comfortable on the couch. "First of all, you tell me who you are."

She blinked her amethyst eyes (but seemingly more than amethyst) seductively and pulled out the rubber band, letting her silky black hair fall to her shoulders. "You did know that Starfire had a sister, right?" She unbuttoned her long, caramel-colored coat and dropped it onto the couch, revealing dark purple and silver armor, similar to Starfire's.

"Holy crap…" Red X looked her up and down. "Blackfire was stalking me?"

She ignored him. "Do you have any soda? I'm afraid I've grown quite a taste for Earth beverages."

"Yeah…" A little awestruck, he went to the fridge and fetched a coke, tossing it to Blackfire.

She popped the tab off and took a sip. "I've been in hiding for a few weeks now. One day, I managed to follow you after you stopped a bank robbery, somehow. You're pretty hard to keep an eye on, you know?"

Red X grinned as he sat down next to her. "I try to be."

"Yes, but I decided to continuing watching you, as of today. I saw your girlfriend problem."

"She was a horse hybrid anyway."

Blackfire raised her eyebrows.

"You could tell by her teeth, and she loved apples."

Blackfire laughed. Score one for the bad guy! He had just made all those things off the top of his head. "Not very faithful, are you?"

"Maybe I could be," he mused, eyeing Blackfire and leaning a little closer.

As if she couldn't take a hint. Their lips had almost touched when the door whipped open.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Robin mumbled as he seized his cape off a chair and tore back out.

Blackfire was gone. Red X checked the other rooms, but he already knew that she wasn't there due to the open window. _Stupid kid_, he thought, but he was smiling. _He's like the brother I never had._

Red X turned out the lights and went to bed, wondering if all this meant that he had a new girlfriend already.

"Beast Boy, I honestly don't know whether to kill you," The changeling whimpered underneath Robin's large shadow. "Or thank you."

"Huh?"

"Starfire and I had a really good time tonight, and though I'm sure that's not what you intended, I guess I owe it to you."

Beast Boy grinned and straightened up. "Well, you know, I happen to be a natural. There's no need to mention it."

"Good," Robin grabbed him by the collar, "because I'm going to get you for sending us to someone else's room!"

"B-but that's why you had a good time, isn't it? Otherwise your whole date would've backfired!"

Robin smirked. "Then it's a good thing your joke backfired first. Just don't try it again, or I might-"

His threat was interrupted by red, blinking lights and a deafening alarm.

"Trouble!" Cyborg shouted, seizing his chance to steal Robin's lead whenever he could.

Robin turned back to Beast Boy, but his friend had already scampered off.

He caught up to him in the OPS room and whispered, "Don't think you're getting off that easily."

The shape-shifter's ears dropped, but he tried to ignore the warning.

"What is the trouble, Cyborg?" Starfire asked.

"They're two robberies going on, simultaneously. What's weird is that they're both at jewelry shops, and at opposite ends of the city." He raised his eyebrows in question. "It could be a trap."

"Any reports of who's behind the thefts?" Robin piped up, already doing the stats and facts in his head.

Raven pushed past Cyborg to type into the computer. "There were sightings of a small female and a large spider attached to a human body in the West, more than likely identified as Kitten and Fang." She paused, her fingers continuing to click and tap. "The other store's thieves remain unknown at the moment."

"Starfire and I will head out East, and Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg can stop Kitten and Fang."

"Looks like someone wants to goof around with his girlfriend!" Cyborg sang out happily, but he was already running.

Starfire blushed and pulled Robin out before he literally spat fire. "She's **_NOT _**my-"

Red X didn't know how he talked himself into these things. He seemed to be a sucker for girls, and he just couldn't let a pretty face walk away. Sure that he would manage to run into Blackfire, Red X had slipped into his suit and scouted the town. Almost instantly, he'd met up with her, she too dressed in her normal villain gear. Funny how she was the one wearing the shining armor when he wanted to be the knight. In a blur of words and a taste only to please Blackfire, Red X had set up a date: criminal style. Honestly, he had no idea what had led him into sealing his own willingness to rob a jewelry store. Jewels were so stupid. So they sparkled, glimmered, and shined, but what was their worth besides looking good? Red X could never figure out why people paid so much for them. Yet, his theory to that gems only looked good was hypocritical in the sense that those were usually the type of girls he was attracted to. Blackfire was different, though. He'd never had a _bad_ girlfriend, and something was telling him it would be more trouble than its worth. But who cared?

"Do you like diamonds or sapphires better?"

Blackfire eyed the shelves and glass cases disdainfully. "None of these rocks would ever dream of matching anything I wear. In my galaxy, we have gems that change color upon contact with the owner. It's sort of like the real deal of your…mood rings, I think they're called."

Yes! Someone who didn't like jewels…at least Earth jewels. "I don't think any jewel could match your beauty," he teased.

She smiled; then sighed. "I guess we should steal _something_, or else this break-in will have been wasted."

"Really? I was having such a good time. If we took anything, I think _that_ would be a waste."

"Then I guess I'll stick with my Centari jewels. I'll have to show you one sometime, they're simply priceless."

She took Red X's hand, which he almost shook off from surprise and floated through the doors, then up into the night sky. It was a full moon. Wasn't it a full moon the first time Blackfire had visited Earth?

"Hello, sister."

Blast! The Teen Titans again! Blackfire gently dropped him onto a rooftop and Red X spun around to face them. To his surprise, it was only Robin and Starfire. Perfect, he got to fun around with the kid and Blackfire could spend some bonding time with her sis. This date was turning out a lot better than his first dates, especially his last one and the one on April Fool's Day.

Robin was completely astonished to find the thieves revealed as none other than Red X and Blackfire. Neither had been spotted in at least a couple months. When had Blackfire arrived? How had she come to Earth undetected, and how long had she been here? What the heck was she doing with Red X? Robin was sure Red X would try and steal the xenothium from the ship smuggling some in yesterday, but he hadn't shown up. Did Blackfire have anything to do with it?

Nobody moved for a second, and Robin realized it was like looking into a mirror…only not a mirror. He stood across from Red X, both boys staring each other down, perhaps even thinking the same thing. Or maybe it was not really two boys, but the halves of one person. It wasn't that one side was good and the other one bad. Someone knew where they belonged and someone didn't. The question was: Which one was which?

Starfire, on the other hand, had no doubt who was good and who was evil. Though she loved her sister and would be the first to welcome her with open arms if she swapped sides, Starfire was determined not to let Blackfire fool her anymore. Her eyes began to glow an emerald green and her hands lit up with righteous fury. Blackfire mimicked her movements, but her ominous, purple aura lacked any justice.

She grinned wickedly. "Let's see who's better once and for all."

Starfire responded with a shout, and Robin joined in, both springing forward at their enemies, and the battle begun.

A volley of green and purple star bolts shone across the sky, and after evading every last flashing color, the two Tamaraneans clashed hand to hand.

"What's the matter, Star?' Blackfire taunted in between their grunts. "Are you still mad that after all these years, I'm the only one who's ever had a boyfriend?"

Starfire flung her sibling onto the rooftop and replied in a wavering voice, "I do too have a boyfriend!"

Blackfire protested to groan as she lifted herself back up. "Oh, really? Is he as weak as you?"

She gasped as Starfire immediately rushed her.

"Are you and her together?" Red X lifted one of x's to clang with Robin's staff.

"What would you know of that?" He lashed out and threw an electric disk.

Red X gracefully jumped to the side, avoiding another barrage of blows easily.

He grinned behind his mask. "Someone told me that they saw you two on Todd Avenue yesterday, while you were," He shrugged and kicked Robin in the stomach, "busy."

Robin got to his feet, his face flushing as red as his shirt. "Shut up!" He cried out as he tripped over Red X's foot.

"Never thought I'd see the day when you got yourself a girlfriend."

Robin pulled out a birdarang, its sharp edge glinting grimly in the moonlight. "I could say the same for you."

"I don't think Kitten and Fang had anything to do with the other robbery," Beast Boy pointed out.

Raven watched until the police had officially slammed the doors on their car. "Ditto," she agreed, pulling down her hood.

"Let's call Robin and Star and see who's behind it and if they need back-up." He touched a few panels on his arm. "Robin? Hello?"

Cyborg was trying to contact him, but Red X had snatched the communicator from Robin's belt. The voice sounded out from Red X's hand.

"Cyborg," Robin called breathlessly.

Red X placed an x on the device, enjoying hearing the circuits sizzle, and dropped it off the building's ledge. Robin clenched his hands into fists and stood up once again.

"Come on, kid. You didn't really want them interrupting our fight, did you?" He beckoned at Robin playfully. "Show me what you've got."

Instead of an elaborate attack formation Red X thought Robin would attempt, the boy pounced right on top of him. They hit the ground, rolling in a frenzy, and Red X felt green-gloved hands clawing at his face.

"Who…**are**…you?" Robin shouted through the struggle.

Red X kicked him off and over the edge of the building. Robin fumbled with his belt frantically until Starfire caught him.

"Star, call Cyborg!"

"As you wish." She held him firmly around the waist and took out her communicator. She shrieked as a purple blast smashed through it, the melted metal oozing through her fingers. Another bolt struck Starfire in the back and Robin quickly shot his grapple hook skyward. When he and Starfire were back at the top of the building, Blackfire had glided to Red X's side.

"That was fun. We really must do it again." Blackfire smiled and waved, cheerfully yet deviously at the same time.

They were retreating, but why? Robin turned around, expecting to find every criminal he'd every fought behind him, but it was the rest of the titans! It was too late. Blackfire and Red X were going to get away.

The two joined hands and Red X pushed the button on his belt. "Catch you later."

"What happened?" Cyborg asked as Beast Boy let go of him to morph back to his human form.

Robin gave him a sour look. "Nothing was stolen. Let's go."

Even then as the titans ventured home, Robin could still hear his voice echoing in his ears, mocking his defeat.

_Better luck next time._


End file.
